January 2025
products and compliance.
Given that sustainability trends often gather momentum in Europe before building steam in the U.S., certified lumber is a trend to watch.
4 Advancements in IoT Tracking
The electronic tracking of pallets has been around for more than 20 years, but it is increasingly getting attention from a new generation of supply chain leaders who embrace technology and have grown up with higher expectations regarding visibility. And given the growing interest in big data and opportunities for AI to promote optimization, the importance of data capture holds increasing currency. Regarding pallets, one of the big installations has been the Pallet Loop in the UK, which issued 450,000 RFID tagged pallets in its first six months of opporation. Closer to home, we are also hearing about more closed loop pallet sstems turning to IoT enabled pallets.
5 Warehouse Automation and Robotics
Automation has continued to reshape the material handling landscape, with robotics and AI-driven systems becoming increasingly integral to operations. While demand, like the economy, flattened in 2024, there was still substantial activity. Warehouses and distribution centers have invested heavily in automated guided vehicles (AGVs), robotic palletizers, and autonomous forklifts, streamlining processes and reducing labor costs.
Some of the newer technologies include AI-powered inventory management and collaborative robots, known as cobots. Cobots work alongside human workers, handling repetitive tasks and improving overall
productivity without replacing the human workforce.
Some automation technologies such as AS/RS pallet storage systems and autonomous forklifts require very high quality pallets, while other approaches, such as robotics and stacker cranes, are generally more agnostic.
6 Advancements in Electric and Alternative Energy-Powered Equipment
Sustainability initiatives have extended to the material handling equipment itself, with a notable shift towards electric and alternative energy-powered machinery. Electric forklifts and pallet jacks have gained popularity, offering quieter, cleaner, and more efficient operations compared to their diesel counterparts. While alternative energy has been more popular for lighter-duty equipment, it is increasingly being adopted for higher-capacity forklifts. This will be an important trend to watch, particularly in California, as the California Air Resources Board (CARB) spearheads the phaseout of fossil fuel-powered machines.
7 Facility Footprint Optimization
Increasingly, companies will be looking to integrate machinery lines or islands of automation with a more compact footprint as well as re-engineer process flow to increase the productivity and storage capacity of their existing facilities to postpone the necessity of moving.
In summary, the year 2024 saw a languishing recovery, continued trends toward automation, electrification, and sustainability. Most agree that the best part of 2024 was getting through it in hope of a more prosperous 2025.
WPM